Method of applying plastic composition covers to baseballs



F. E. WILEY 2,879,179

ITION COVERS TO BASEBALLS Filed April 2, 1956 March 24, 1959 METHOD OFAPPLYING PLASTI C COMPO INVENTOR. FRED E. WILEY ATTORN EYS United StatesPatent METHOD OF APPLYING PLASTIC COMPOSITION COVERS TO BASEBALLS FredE. Wiley, Longrneadow, Mass., assignor to Tober Baseball ManufacturingCo., Inc., Manchester, Conm, a corporation of Connecticut ApplicationApril 2, 1956, Serial No. 575,562

4 Claims. (Cl. 117-94) This invention relates to a method for applyingrubber or other plastic coverings to baseballs and the like.

One object of the invention is to provide a functionally improved coverfor such balls and to efiect the application of such covers in a moreeconomical and speedier manner.

Further objects are to secure a more uniform covering of the ball andbetter adhesion of the cover to the body of the ball.

A further object is to provide a cover of a latex composition which moreclosely approximates a sewed leather cover in appearance and servicethan can be obtained by presently available methods and machines.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a generally perspective view of apparatus embodying theinvention,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing aball with the initial band of covering applied; and

Fig. 3 is a detail view illustrating the applications of successivecover bands.

In the manufacture of the type of baseball to which the presentapplication applies the body of the ball is formed by building up aplurality of windings 11 of strands of suitable material formed ofsuitable textile fibres, natural or synthetic.

Heretofore it has been a practice to coat the interior of a heated mold,formed in two halves, with a thick latex composition, dip the ball bodyin a bath of thesame or similar composition, place the dipped ball inthe mold, close the mold to force the covering material into thewindings and to squeeze out surplus material at the mating edges of themold and then subjecting the mold to heat to cure, or otherwise hardenand dry out the cover.

Such procedures have the disadvantage that both the ball body and themold have to be latex coated, and frequently in the dipping step airbubbles are entrapped in the latex. Further, since the respectivecoatings must be viscous a substantial movement of the material on theball body and mold may take place before they are brought together inthe mold so that substantial flow of the material may be required in theclosed mold if the ball is to be uniformly covered. The weight of theball in the mold and the possible dilferent viscosities of the twocoatings, due to evaporation depending on the elapsed time since thecoatings were applied, all tend to produce a lack of unformity in thefinished cover. Furthermore, in these prior procedures the coatingscontain a substantial amount of moisture which must be driven into or beabsorbed by the adjacent portion of the ball body as the cover curesorsets in the closed mold with a resulting lack of uniform adhesionbetween the cover and ball body.

Most if not all of these ditliculties are removed or their effectsreduced by the procedures of the present invention.

According to the present invention the ball bodies are duit 30discharges.

in the tank 41 from conduit 30 and drainage from the Patented Mar. 24,1959 covered, each such band being built up as a plurality.

of convolute windings of the viscous latex composition.

Referring to the drawings the ball body is rolled by gravity down atrough generally designated at 15 and formed by successive straightsections or portions 16, 17, 18 and 19, each section extending atsubstantially right angles to the preceding section and connectedthereto by curved portions 20 of relatively sharp radius. The trough '15is supported by a base 21 which may take any suitable form but which inany event inclines the trough at .a sufiicient angle to cause the ballbodies to roll downwardly from the upper end of the trough to the lowerend under the force of gravity. As best shown in Fig. 2 the trough is ofless width than the diameter of the ball body to be covered and isprovided with a curved bottom 22 terminating in upwardly directedflanges 23 forming rails along which the ball bodies roll, with theintermediate portion of the body extending into the trough but spacedfrom the bottom and sides hereof.

Viscous latex or other composition 25 which is to form the cover of theballis supplied to the trough at points adjacent the upper end of eachstraight trough section through nozzles 26, supplied through a suitablesystem of pipes, as generally indicated at 27 from a suitable pumpindicated at 28 which is supplied from a reservoir 29. The body of thetrough 15 is formed with a conduit 30. The bottom of the trough isformed with openings 31 communicating with the conduit 30, an openingbeing provided at the upper end of each straight section 17, 18 and 19,upwardly of the point ofdischarge of the adjacent nozzle 26 andapproximately on the line of juncture of the upper end of the troughsection and the adjacent curved section 20.

With a stream of covering composition flowing down each section of the,trough ball bodies 10 are fed in timed succession to the upper end oftrough section 16 and roll down the section with an equatorial portionengaging in the flowing stream of the covering composition with theresult that the ball bodies pick up successive convolutions of thecomposition to form a band 35, Figs. 2 and 3. As each ball body reachesthe lower end of section 16 its direction is abruptly changed as itrounds the sharply curved section 20 at the lower end of section 16 andas it progresses down seciton 17, a second equatorial band ofcomposition36 (Fig. 3) is applied to the ball body at an angle to band 35 as theball body rolls down section 17. Similarly as the ball body againchanges its direction at the upper end of section 18 a third band ofcomposition 37 is applied to the ball body at an angle to band 36, and afourth band, not shown,

is applied at an angle to band 37 to complete the coverage of the ballbody as it rolls down section 19.

As shown, the-trough sections are of a length to provide a plurality ofrotations of the ball body and hence a plurality of convolutions of thecomposition in each band. The trough sections at least should equal inlength the circumference of the ball so that a complete band is formedin each trough section.

As the ball leaves the lower end of trough section 19 it rolls onto asuitable screen 40 positioned substantially at the level of the end ofthe trough and over an open tank or basin 41 into which the overflow 42from con- The covering composition received balls resting on screen 40is returned to the pump 28 through a pipe 43.

As the covering composition is picked up by the rolling ball body it iskneaded by the successive rotations of the body into the textilewindings forming the outer portion of the ball body and into the edgesof the preceding bands, and the rolling engagement of the ball with thecomposi* tion minimizes the entrapment of air in the bands as they areformed. Further, the discharge of the covering composition from nozzles26 and the flow of the composition through openings 31 may be adjustedto maintain substantially constant and equal depths of composition inthe several sections or legs of the trough. All of these factorstogether with the adjustment or selection of the degree of inclinationof the trough and the viscosity of the covering composition, controllingthe rate of movement of the composition and balls, provide a more denseand uniform cover of desired thickness, all resulting in a superior andbetter controlled product than is obtainable by prior methods andapparatus.

It will be understood that while, as shown, the trough 15 is shown ascomprising four straight sections at right angles to each other, alarger number of sections at various angles to each other may beemployed if desired.

Preferably and for most uniform results the ball bodies are introducedat the upper end of the trough at a rate so that each leg of the troughcontains only one ball at a time.

The balls are removed from the screen 40 and placed in a mold, formed intwo halves and the mold closed under light pressure, the mold beingheated to a temperature to complete the drying and, if the covercomposition contains a vulcanizing or curing agent, to vulcanize or curethe cover.

An appreciable length of time elapses as the ball bodies roll down theseveral legs or sections of the trough and the convoluate increments ofthe cover material picked up at each revolution of the ball body arerelatively thin so some evaporation, aided by the movement of the ballbody, may take place. As a result the covering is more stable and lessmoisture is present to be dispersed into the ball body during the dryingor curing in the mold than in prior practice.

The mold is preferably made by electroplating a leather covered handsewn baseball. The electroplate is then removed and mounted in a solidbacking matrix which is cored for heating by steam or other heatingmeans. With a mold so prepared the thread, sew-holes and even theleather surface texture is imparted to the composition cover when theballs are removed from the molds. The reproduction of the stitching may,if desired, be painted or otherwise colored to give an exceedinglyrealistic appearance to the ball, the only indication, except uponcritical inspection, that the ball is not provided with a sewn leathercover being the mold flash which can be re moved by sanding. This closesimulation in appearance to a standard leather covered ball is desirablein the eyes of juveniles, the principal users of this type of ball, whocannot afford the much more expensive leather covered professional orsemi-professional baseballs.

While the ball body may take various forms, it is desirable that theouter portion of the body be formed of windings of textile strands, aspreviously mentioned, both for better ball performance and betteradhesion of the cover. Preferably the outer windings are relatively fineto provide a smoother surface for the cover.

The covering compound may take various forms but preferably is a latexcomposition. The following covering compound has proved well adapted toapplication by the above method and apparatus.

A rubber latex, such as is obtainable under the desig' nation LotolL-2632 (Naugatuck Chemical Company) with sulfur (Naugatuck ChemicalCompanys NX-Sll), cotton flock, casine and water in the followingproportions forms a suitable composition:

Parts by weight The sulfur and cotton flock are first added to the latexand stirred until the air is sufficiently removed. The casein is thenwet with the water but not heated. This is then added to the latex andstirred until the casein smooths out. The result is a viscous pastymaterial having the degree of tack, moisture content and viscositysuitable for covering baseballs in accordance with the presentinvention.

In practice baseballs covered with the above composi tion applied inaccordance with the present invention have sustained at least 350 hitswithout deterioration and have otherwise demonstrated their superiorqualities for the use intended.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of applying covers to baseballs and the like whichcomprises rotating the ball with a portion of its circumference incontact with a quantity of viscous covering composition, such as arubber latex, to apply a circumferential band of the composition aboutan equatorial portion of the ball, and successively changing the axis ofrotation of the ball to apply a succession of such bands thereto untilthe entire surface of the ball is covered with said composition.

2. The method of applying covers to baseballs and the like whichcomprises successively applying thereto circumferential bands of aviscous covering composition, such as a rubber latex, at varyingequatorial angles to each other, said bands each comprising at least onecomplete convolute Winding of the viscous composition, until the ball isat least completely covered.

3. The method of applying covers to baseballs and the like whichcomprises rolling the ball in a straight line with an equatorial portionof its surface in rolling contact with a quantity of a viscous coveringcomposition, such as a rubber latex, to form a band of the compositioncircumferentially around the ball, the band being formed of at least onecomplete convolution of the composition picked up by the rolling advanceof the ball, and successively changing the direction of advance of theball to apply a succession of such bands until the ball is at leastcompletely covered.

4. The method recited in claim 3 in which the coating compositioncomprises:

Parts by weight Latex (Lotol 11-2632) 222.7 Sulfur (NX811) 1.60 Cottonflock 8. Casein 5.0 Water 10.00

the sulfur and cotton flock being first added to the latex and stirreduntil the air is substantially removed, and the casein is wet with waterand stirred into said latex-sulphurfiock mixture until the caseinsmooths out.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. THE METHOD OF APPLYING COVERS TO BASEBALLS AND THE LIKE WHICHCOMPRISES ROTATING THE BALL WITH A PORTION OF ITS CIRCUMFERENCE INCONTRACT WITH A QUANTITY OF VISCOUS COVERING COMPOSITION, SUCH AS ARUBBER LATEX, TO APPLY A CIRCUMFERENTIAL BAND OF THE COMPOSITION ABOUTAN EQUATORIAL PORTION OF THE BALL, AND SUCCESSSIVELY CHANGING THE AXISOF ROTATION OF THE BALL TO APPLY A SUCCESSION OF SUCH ABNDS THERETOUNTIL THE ENTIRE SURFACE OF THE BALL IS COVERED WITH SAID COMPOSITION.